Drawing the Master Sword is one of, if not the most crucial point of any Zelda game. It truly marks how far you’ve come, how your efforts have made you stronger, and how you’ve become worthy to wield the Blade of Evil’s Bane.
Every moment of this in every game, even in some of the games in the franchise that I’m not the biggest fan of, always feels so powerful and leaves such an impact on me. One of them that has always stuck in my mind is when you pull the Master Sword in Twilight Princess.
Many who know me know that Ocarina of Time is my personal favorite game in the series. Drawing the Master Sword in that game is also extremely impactful for me — especially in my case, given one of my previous stories of it taking three years to get to that point. Honestly, I had trouble picking between the two at first.
However, the circumstances that lead you to drawing the blade in Twilight Princess personally made the feeling and power of the scene much more impactful for me. It was such a roller coaster — getting basically brushed aside by Zant and cursed into a Wolf, Midna nearly dying, Zelda sacrificing herself, that ACCURSED statue puzzle…
In terms of gameplay, this was the most I’d ever had to do to even gain access to the sword, let alone pull it from its pedestal. But when I finally made it and all I could hear were the sounds of nature around me, it truly felt like I’d stumbled upon something so much bigger than me. As I approached and the sword began to shimmer along with Link growling at the blade, I felt adrenaline run through me — like I’d finally made it to the homestretch of the first half.
As Link pulled out the blade and held it aloft, alongside the most incredible Master Sword theme in the franchise (in my opinion, anyway), my excitement was immense. After being thrown around between dimensions, fighting obscenely strong creatures and facing off with Zant, I finally felt like I was in control and that I really did have a chance at saving Hyrule.
Hearing Midna saying that the blade had accepted me as its master was the cherry on top: at this point, I knew Midna did not give compliments lightly. I felt truly ready — ready for whatever else was ahead for me.
